Driftwood Surge every word shot down in flames

Let beauty come out of ashes

Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! Eretrea heaved lightly as she tucked herself into a small opening in the rocks, sheltering her from the wind that blew in as a wet mucus-y sound rose from her throat, bringing with it little drips of bile that had been a near constant for almost a week. Everyone had been getting sick, and the healer had insisted it wasn’t a normal cough… she’d been fine, one of the few able to still move about just fine… and then the storm hit. The tawny girl was now tucked away, and she wasn’t certain how far away from home she was now. She’d lost track what felt like days ago.

It was so cold. She felt a shiver down her spine as the grotesque sounds escaped her body again. Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! She’d managed to stop coughing enough long enough earlier to bring down a thinned hare, but the exercise had caused the coughing to become worse in turn, as if she’d excited the mucus buildup too much for it to not try and crawl it’s way up her throat and to the surface.

Stupid cold. It felt as if her teeth were chattering, rattling against her skull as she attempted to pull in tighter, which only caused her to begin to cough once more. Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh!

Aimless.

That was all he could feel.

It was not often that Riven wandered this far from the Falls - in fact, it was almost unheard of, with how much of a homebody the healer was. But Adelard was missing, and there weren't many wolves available to search for him. Chan and his family had set out, and Riven almost felt jealous of the older man - ultimately, he was happy that he decided to prioritize what he wanted over some sort of duty binding him to the area.

Riven wanted to do the same.

The desire was palpable, to just start walking in a direction and never stop until he found what he was looking for, but part of him knew he would never reach it, if only because he didn't know what it was. He had no goals or aspirations to speak of, and nowhere he wanted to be. For Riv, it had always been more about the people than the place, and now...

Now what?

Ad was missing again, Rhaegara and Saga and Huddy long gone. It was only Riven now.

Well, Riven and the small group of wolves that still called the Falls home.

They were all so young, and though Riven wasn't quite an elder, it made him feel ancient to his very bones. How could he, in good conscience, leave such young wolves to flounder around and hope they survived. Riv wasn't sure what he could do, ultimately, but he was going to try.

He'd been wandering with no destination in mind for a few hours now, hoping against hope that he'd pick up a trace of Adelard's familiar scent, but there was nothing.

And then, a cough.

Riven perked at the sound, instinct demanding he tend to the wolf making the sound - that he fix it. He hurried toward the noise, finding its source nestled in a small, enclosed area in the nearby rocks. His brows drew together in concern when he spotted the pup, and he crept a little closer, movements slow.

"Hello, there," he greeted softly. The poor pup sounded horrible as she breathed, and Riven wished above anything else he'd brought herbs along with him. There didn't appear to be other wolves nearby, and his chest ached at the thought of such a young wolf, so sick, without even a parent to comfort them. "What happened?" Why are you out here by yourself like this?

(This post was last modified: Nov 17, 2024, 08:34 PM by Riven.)

Let beauty come out of ashes

Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! She hated the heaving that she felt in her chest, and the way it ached as she continued to cough. She was turned around and while she knew the stars almost as well as she knew herself, she had been so lost in the storm that she wasn’t sure which direction her home was. Had she wandered north, leaving her parents to the south, or vice versa? Had she traveled east or west of where her home was as well? She had no way to know, and it left her most disoriented and more alone… an aching pain that settled in under the tenderness of the muscles working overtime to keep her lungs clear of mucus.

Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! It was then that she heard a voice, pressing herself further into her little alcove, her teeth almost rattling from the chill that swept down her spine, likely caused by fever that had settled over her. What happened? There would be a pregnant pause, as if she were deciding whether or not to answer, and if so how honestly she might answer…

But the girl was scared, and so she found herself stuttering out the answer with raspy breath. “S-st-storm.” Afterwards, she’d done her best to navigate home, but ended up more turned around and lost than she’d been to begin with. She wondered if her parents were looking for her, and how far away they were… what if they weren’t okay because of the illness that had swept the pack?

“C-co-cold.”

Wolves got sick and injured - it was a fact of life, and normally, while he was often concerned and gentle in his approach, Riven was rarely affected in this way. No one should be sick and alone in the cold, much less a pup. His chest ached as he watched the girl hesitate, deliberating and trembling and afraid. Riven didn't blame her in the slightest - while he had good intentions, he was a stranger, and she was so weak.

He was going to take her back to the Falls - there was no doubt in his mind about that - but there was no way to transport her like this. He couldn't carry her, and he doubted the poor kid could make the trek right now. Treatment, while necessary, would have to wait until she'd rested up a little and hopefully that fever he bet she was sporting eased down a bit.

Her answer was vague and broken by the sound of her teeth chattering, and Riv's brows knitted together in worry.

"I'll bet," he said, voice thick with sympathy. "My name is Riven, and I'm a healer from Paradise Falls." The words would likely mean nothing to her right now, but that didn't matter. He'd explain more later. "I'm going to help you, okay? Is it alright if I lay down right here?" He patted the ground at the entrance to the little alcove with his paw - not too near to her, but close enough to block the worst of the wind.

Let beauty come out of ashes

Eretrea was cognizant enough to recognize that she was not in the best shape… she just didn’t know what to do about it other than attempt to conserve her warmth. A shiver ran down her spine, a light chatter in her teeth as he sympathized, labeling himself a healer which had her eyes widen lightly, nodding when he asked about laying down at the entrance of where she’d tucked herself away.

“Y-Yes.” She motioned lightly with her head before the hacking sound continued. Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! Khh-uhhh! The mucus continued to shake loose. “Wh-what’s Paradise Falls?” She assumed a pack, but she wondered if there was more to it… more details. Perhaps they knew her family! She knew that one of her dads had traveled the world before he had met the rest of her parents, but there were never any guarantees.

“I’m cold.” Despite the shivers, she managed to say it without stumbling too horridly over her words.